


Each Charted Course

by Tarlan



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Episode Related, First Time, M/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-11-20
Updated: 2010-11-20
Packaged: 2017-10-13 07:28:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/134575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They need O'Neill to help them restore the timeline. Carter and Jackson failed to lure him back so now it's Rodney's turn to try.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Each Charted Course

**Author's Note:**

> For LJ's **Fanfic100** challenge #63. Summer

"Where is he?" Rodney demanded and sighed when Major Davis pointed along the jetty towards an old fishing boat displaying the name _Homer_. He chose his footing carefully as he walked along the narrow wooden jetty, consciously aware of the water lapping just a few feet below him. He hated water. He hated sunshine too, preferring to stay inside his air conditioned laboratory, especially during the heat of summer, but circumstances had brought him out today after Major Davis, Daniel Jackson and that hot library chick, Samantha Carter had failed to bring O'Neill into the Stargate program. He wasn't sure what good his presence would accomplish as he wasn't exactly known for his charming personality but Hammond has insisted on him trying next. If Rodney was a petty man, which admittedly he could be on occasion, then he would see this as some form of punishment. Either that or Hammond hated President Kinsey so much that he'd prefer to destroy this timeline just to see someone else in the White House.

Rodney had spent a little time reading up on Colonel Jack O'Neill on the plane. It seemed that the only thing they had in common was the inability to suffer fools gladly, and possibly ice hockey. He had also watched the footage of Jackson and Carter's attempt to entice O'Neill back and he was determined not to let O'Neill treat him just as foolishly. He would not be stepping onto O'Neill's boat, or paying for an unwanted charter at $150 an hour, and he would definitely not be putting on a life jacket just to sit in O'Neill's boat. Although that was a given considering his determination not to set even one foot on that boat--or any boat. In truth, he had this terrible fear of drowning ever since he was pushed under during a school swimming lesson when he was eight years old. And if someone was to offer him a life jacket right this minute then he'd probably put it on regardless of whether he was in someone's moored boat or not. And was this jetty safe? It was moving. He could swear it was moving. Was it supposed to move?

Rodney drew in a deep breath, realizing he was babbling inside his own head.

O'Neill rolled his eyes the moment he saw Rodney but continued spooling the fishing wire so Rodney took a moment to look at the man. O'Neill was handsome in a rugged looking way and it was obvious that he was still keeping in shape despite his retirement. His fingers were nimble, handling the fishing spool deftly and Rodney could well imagine the ex-Black Ops Colonel being equally meticulous and sure-fingered handling weapons and all manner of transports from jets to helicopters. The laid-back attitude was there to fool people into thinking he was some harmless lout like the cartoon character he idolized: Homer Simpson. That person would be wrong. Eventually O'Neill looked back up at him and grimaced.

"Don't tell me. You want me come with you if I want to live."

"What?" Rodney stared at him in confusion.

"Forget it."

Suddenly Rodney caught the Terminator reference and he smiled weakly because he hadn't thought O'Neill was a science fiction genre fan. But then the last week must have come across like the plot from some fantastical science fiction movie.

"I'm Doctor Rodney..."

"I said forget it. The answer is no."

"You haven't heard the question yet."

"Oh believe me, I've heard it twice now. And the answer is still no."

"What will it take for the answer to be yes?"

"Seriously."

Rodney gave an unsettled smile. "Yes."

O'Neill stared hard at him. "No. Seriously. You want to alter the timeline so I'll be spending my days saving the world and getting shot at instead of soaking up the sea breeze and sunshine, happy in my retirement. And as Carter will be doing **your** job, where will you be in this brave new world? You thought of that?"

"Actually. No. Not really."

O'Neill raised both eyebrows smugly, and Rodney had to admit he had a point. There were plenty of people who would object to them erasing this timeline. President Kinsey for one. And O'Neill was right about the gamble Rodney would be taking with his own existence. If Carter had his job then where was he in that alternative timeline? Was he even alive? The fork in the road had occurred several thousand years ago so there was no guarantee that he even existed in that timeline. His parents might never have met. Millions of people might simply disappear with millions of others taking their place, and no one would be any the wiser. Was that fair? And here lay the dichotomy because all that he saw around him was the result of a mistake made by a team called SG-1 only a relatively short time ago in _their_ timeline, perhaps just a few weeks ago. All the people who existed in this timeline had only truly come into existence since that catastrophic moment. This was more than just correcting a simple mistake, it was destroying an entire universe in order to restore another back to its rightful place. As selfish, petty and arrogant as he could be on occasion, even Rodney felt the pull of doing what was right even if it meant he would simply cease to exist. O'Neill, at least, had a guarantee that he would still exist in a similar form in the restored universe, and so did Jackson and Carter because all three of them were on that tape.

Feeling sick at heart, Rodney drew himself up. "Believe me, I appreciate my existence as much as the next person... but not at the expense of a whole timeline."

O'Neill stared hard at him, and Rodney felt uncomfortable beneath that unreadable gaze. He felt as if he was being weighed up and found... agreeable for a change instead of wanting. It was a strange feeling that made him feel warm inside. Either that or he'd had too much sunshine and it was addling his brain. Unlikely though.

"Come on board."

"Actually, I'd rather not."

"It's a nice summer's day. Spend one hour out on the ocean in my boat and I'll come back with you."

Rodney stared from O'Neill to the battered old boat, not believing it could truly be that simple. "Are you sure this thing floats?"

"Get on-board or go away."

"Right." The other thing Rodney had learned from O'Neill's file was that he rarely bluffed so Rodney decided not to call him on it this time. Instead he leaned forward and grabbed a handrail, gripping tightly as he carefully placed first one foot and then the other onto the deck. He stood perfectly still once on-board, breath catching in his throat as the waves rocked the boat so it moved even more than the jetty. This was not good.

"I... don't suppose I could have one of those life vests?" He pointed towards the bright orange vest lying on the bench seat, aware that he had already broken his previous determination to not set foot on O'Neill's boat so what was one more broken self-promise? O'Neill raised an amused eyebrow as he cast off the rope securing the boat to the dock.

"Sure. Knock yourself out."

Rodney drew back his hand as if burned, wondering if the life vest could cut off the oxygen to his brain. "Really?"

"It's an expression."

"Oh. Yes. Of course. Not really going to knock me out." There went the other self-promise not to look a fool in front of O'Neill. "I'm just a little... nervous on water."

"Sit down before you fall down... or in," O'Neill ordered as he climbed the narrow stairs to the bridge. The engine spluttered into life and moments later the boat was moving away from its mooring, heading into the open channel leading to the ocean.

"This is a bad, bad idea," Rodney murmured under his breath as they left dry land far behind, very much aware of his white-knuckled grip on the rail.

They seemed to travel for hours but, in truth, only ten minutes had passed before O'Neill cut the engine and returned to the lower deck where Rodney was feeling decidedly nauseous. He dropped the anchor before sinking onto the bench opposite Rodney, then eyed him curiously.

"Now we can talk without the surveillance."

He smiled and Rodney had to admit that O'Neill was definitely not as stupid as he acted if he was aware of the constant surveillance they had placed him under ever since the discovery of the alternate timeline video.

"If I help you fix this... mistake, then all this stops existing for me."

He spread his hands to encompass the boat and the ocean beyond, though Rodney was eternally grateful to see the shore line in the distance. Not that he could swim that far, though he did have a life vest so maybe he could make it as long as there were no sharks. Would there be sharks? He should have read up on that on the plane. Do sharks attack boats? Wasn't the boat in JAWS not much bigger than this one?

Rodney glanced around, grateful that the sea was relatively calm and that there was not a single cloud to mar the perfection of the blue summer's sky from one horizon to the other. He was even getting accustomed to the gentle rocking motion, so it didn't feel quite so bad out here... as long as the boat didn't sink. When he looked back at O'Neill, this time he noticed everything he had missed about him the first time round; the healthy glow of his skin from soaking up the sun, the small creases around his eyes and mouth that showed only when he smiled, and the contentment in those brown eyes. Despite appearances, namely the battered state of this boat, life wasn't all that bad for the O'Neill in this timeline.

Of course there were advantages if O'Neill agreed to help them reset the world back to the way it was according to the video. He would be a General rather than a retired Colonel. He could retire on a far better pension... and buy a better boat. On the downside, he would have the weight of the world on his shoulders, and the only body of water would be the fish pond near his house that had no fish. It was a lot to ask of any man.

"Obviously," O'Neill stated, "Any form of payment will be redundant at that point so I want something now. In advance."

"Um. Fine. Name it."

"You."

"What?"

"I want you."

Confused, Rodney stared hard at O'Neill. "Me?" he squeaked.

"Yeah."

"But... I'm a man."

O'Neill looked down at himself. "Hey! So am I. I'm not picky."

"But... But someone like you has hot blonds fawning all over him. Why would you want me?"

"Maybe hot blonds don't do it for me."

"Really? I mean, you saw Samantha Carter and she is one hot..."

"Can have her anytime. You? Not so much." He leaned forward with forearms balanced on his thighs and hands clasped together. "And if they never rescinded DADT in that other timeline, then not at all."

For the first time since stepping on-board the boat, Rodney felt his fear loosening its tight grip on him as his mind drifted to far more pleasant thoughts. Why hadn't he noticed this in O'Neill's file, that the man liked male as well as female partners just like him? Of course, if Hammond knew then maybe that was why he had insisted on Rodney coming here today, being fully aware that Rodney had a thing for blond women and for military men. Perhaps Hammond thought the beautiful Sam Carter or handsome-beneath-the-geeky-glasses Daniel Jackson would easily draw O'Neill back into active service, and when that didn't work he chose O'Neill's other preference? Certainly O'Neill hit a lot of Rodney's preferences in a male partner so Rodney wasn't going to turn down the opportunity to get to know O'Neill far better. Plus if Rodney didn't exist in the original timeline then this could be the very last time he had sex with anyone--male or female.

"So that's why?" Rodney waved towards the expanse of ocean and distant shore. "And what if I say no?"

"You won't."

"You seem to be under the impression that I would do anything--"

"Saw you checking me out when you first arrived. Don't ever play poker, McKay."

Jack stood up and stripped off his t-shirt, revealing a strong torso with a smattering of salt-and-pepper chest hair. He tossed the shirt on the bench and gave Rodney a come-hither smile before disappearing inside the cabin. Suddenly clumsy fingers wouldn't release the knots of the life vest and he cursed, squawking when O'Neill leaned out, grabbed the vest and hauled Rodney inside and down the steps to the living area below. Those deft fingers made short work of the knots before pulling off the life vest and casting it aside. Rodney's dress shirt and Mr. Fantastic T-shirt followed soon after but Rodney barely noticed, too preoccupied by the lustful kisses and the slide of warm hands over his skin. O'Neill dragged away from the kiss, mouth latching over one of Rodney's nipples and teeth scraping over the sensitive bud. Rodney arched into him, wanting more of the exquisite torment as those nimble fingers started to work on Rodney's pants, opening them and pushing them down. He moaned as a hand wrapped around him, losing himself in the mouth that claimed him in another deep kiss. O'Neill pulled back.

"I want to fuck you."

"Yeah. Oh yeah."

Later, as he lay replete in O'Neill's arms with his head resting on O'Neill's sweaty chest, Rodney would recall the intense pleasure of O'Neill moving inside him, thrusting deep and hard as he kissed Rodney with equal ferocity. He would recall the order to touch himself, to bring himself off while O'Neill watched him greedily, thrusting out of control as he witnessed Rodney's climax. It wasn't good sex. It was GREAT sex, and if Rodney was to cease to exist in the near future then at least he would disappear without any regrets for this timeline.

O'Neill had them back at his mooring exactly one hour from the time they left and Rodney felt a little awkward standing back on the jetty when he still had such vivid images of O'Neill climaxing deep in his ass. He cleared his throat.

"So. I'll have Major Davis make the arrangements... for Colorado."

"Sure."

He gave O'Neill a wry smile and turned away, body still thrumming with the pleasure and aware that he would never have the same irrational fear of boats after today.

"McKay?"

He looked back to see O'Neill standing at the back of the boat looking at him intently.

"It doesn't have to be a one-off payment in advance."

Rodney smiled, eternally grateful that the US military had rescinded the stupid anti-gay regulations. "No. It doesn't."

END


End file.
